The Guestlist With Sean Cannon

Jordan Kurland moved to San Francisco 19 years ago with the plan to learn the ropes as a band manager, then move somewhere else. Well, he's still there and still managing bands (like Death Cab, The New Pornographers, and Bob Mould) all these years later. Jordan and I talked about how his locale has affected his outlook on the music industry, as well as where things are in general in the music world.

I still can't believe that I got to see the sexiest elbows in all of rock and roll in person! I know, right?!?! But Jason Narducy is more than just elbows. He's the driving force behind Split Single, too. During SXSW, we talked about the band, his past, his present and his old pal Michael Jordan.

I sat down with Lou Barlow in a makeshift arcade to discuss his relationship to his songs, his relationship to live music and his relationship to bad reviews. You know, lots of relationships.

Yoni Wolf of Why? is a homeowner...with a mortgage. And his place is beautiful. But we didn't spend the entire interview talking about how he bought and renovated his home (although we do spend a little time on that). Instead, Yoni and I go through his musical history and discuss the ins and outs of how he plies his trade.

Sometimes it's all about context, and that definitely seemed to be the case for Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. He was in the midst of his first acoustic living room tour when I sat down with him, and it looked like that change of context completely reinvigorated him. Part of it was obviously the change in scenery (from a rock club to a small room with no stage). But it also seemed like part of it was being divorced from the narrative that had developed around the band years ago during the music blog boom. Either way, it was interesting to talk with him about the newfound energy and his take on songwriting.

Ryan Kattner doesn't consider himself a songwriter or a frontman or even a musician. Never mind the fact that actually fronts Man Man and writes most of the music. But according to him, that approach is what makes it possible to do what he's done with the band over the last decade.

Damien Jurado has been on the show more than anyone else at this point. Three times might not seem like a lot, but when you've covered as much ground as we have at this point...it feels like a lot. This time around, we focus on his new album (Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son) and the spiritual journey that led to it.

Wax Fang just released a 42-minute space rock concept album, and it is epic in every sense of the word. More importantly, though, it's amazing, too! Frontman and guitarist Scott Carney sat down to discuss the record, as well as Wax Fang's recent involvement with the show "American Dad."

Apparently some folks think Mike Birbiglia isn't a standup comedian. Those people are wrong. And dumb. That's all there is to it.

Mick Foley is a modern day renaissance man — wrestler, author, comedian, Santa impersonator, feminist, Disney Channel enthusiast. Well, I'm not sure about that last one, but he did take his favorite porn star to watch the dress rehearsal of a Disney TV show. That counts for something, right?

During my conversation with Les Savy Fav frontman Tim Harrington, I realized that he is a paradox wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a beard. He simultaneously embodies what might be seen as a folk art mentality (both in his musical performances and his other work), even though he was trained at RISD. Oh yeah, and he's also not into "freaky creepy funky fusion." Sorry, Mike Patton.

In honor of The Best Show on WFMU ending its run of 13 glorious years, I'm revisiting my conversations with Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster. The show has been such a huge influence on me – not just as a guy on the radio, but as a human being who loves ridiculous, endearing, hilarious things.

Not only did Richard Hell belong to the blank generation, he helped create it. He and I talked about what it was like to become a punk rocker when there was no punk rock, his transition from full-time musician to full-time author, and what it was like to condense his entire universe into a book (his recent autobiography, "I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp").

At first glance, it might seem a little odd that the Henry brothers wrote a Richard Pryor biography (titled "Furious Cool"). But after you hear the story behind the story, it all makes sense — and in many ways, the uinque nature of their journey makes the book even more interesting. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Here's the first interview from my recent trip to New York City, and it's with a quintessential New York comedian. Sure, Todd Barry spent most of his adolescence in Florida, but his heart was always in NYC.